Alibaba Reports 45% Revenue Growth, Announces Top Leadership Change

Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group Holding reported a 45% revenue increase in the quarter ended on March 31, 2015, as the company improves the proportion of mobile transactions across its online retail platforms.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $2.81 billion. The group generated $846 million from transactions made by mobile users, an increase of 352% from a year before. Gross merchandise value of mobile purchases rose 157% year-over-year to $49 billion, accounting for 51% of its total GMV of $97 billion in the three-month period.

The group also announced that Chief Operating Officer Daniel Zhang will be replacing Jonathan Lu as its chief executive. Lu will remain on the board as vice chairman.

Executive chairman Jack Ma said in a statement that Zhang, who has been with the company for eight years, is a “proven international business leader.”

“He has the confidence of our entire management team, and there is no better person to lead Alibaba Group as we embark on the next stage of our growth on top of the strong foundation that Jonathan helped build,” Ma said.

The top leadership change comes amid concerns of slowing growth and the company’s business practices related to fighting counterfeit products. The Chinese government has accused Alibaba of not putting enough effort in eliminating problematic merchandises. An ensuing tussle with regulators has once sent shares plunging after the company’s September IPO.

Full-year revenue also grew 45%, to $12.3 billion. Alibaba now has 350 million active buyers, compared with 334 million a year earlier. The company said the increase was mainly driven by users accessing its sites through mobile devices, and growth was particularly fast in lower tier cities.